Any attempts to capture, define and represent achievement and progress in Mäori must not only be valid and reliable but also credible in the eyes of Mäori and non-Mäori educationalists alike. Efforts must therefore be based on sound educational theorising and practice as well as derived from Mäori worldview theorising. As stated by Cunningham (1998, p 400)

Mäori data x Mäori analysis = Mäori knowledge

Kaua e whakaiti tangata - avoid the belittlement of people is one of the Mäori pedagogical principles that shaped the way the literacy assessment data was gathered, presented and interpreted in this study. Other associated sentiments such as, he mana tö te tamaiti and tiakina töna wairua revolve around preserving the prestige and dignity in this case, of the child and protecting his/her spiritual wellbeing. On this basis, reading ages as used in English medium programmes to locate performance in reading and measure achievement and progress were rejected. Statements such as although he is nine, he has a reading age of a five year old and associated terminology such as average and below average to describe performance are somewhat derogatory in nature. Descriptions that carry such negative connotations can be a source of shame and embarrassment to parents and extended family (whänau) especially in cases where they are used repeatedly to describe a child as tends to be the case with learners who struggle with reading and writing. According to a Mäori worldview, the child is perceived as the culmination of past generations of ancestors and such descriptions reflect not only on them but also current and future generations.

In an attempt to remove the temptation to use such terms, time in immersion measurements are used in preference to chronological age. The line marking the mean or average on the reading graph developed in this study therefore will also not be included on future versions adapted for classroom use. This issue highlights the need for the careful development of a corpus of explicit language and terminology in Mäori to describe achievement and progress for literacy assessment frameworks.

Where to now?

The framework for locating and tracking achievement and progress in literacy proposed here was derived from particular settings and contexts. The more the profiles of children, teachers, programmes and schools differ from those in the study, the more the framework should be used with caution.

The extent to which the framework generalises successfully to programmes operating at levels less than 80% immersion in Mäori is yet to be established. Children, who first enrol into immersion after five years of age or have had little exposure to Mäori language prior to entering school, may very well display different profiles of progress. So too might children who are not introduced to reading instruction in the first year of schooling . It should not be assumed that the framework will generalise or automatically be acceptable to schools in other geographical and/or tribal areas. Again further research and trialling is required to determine this.

The next stage should involve assisting the schools that participated in the study to integrate the framework into their literacy assessment and reporting practices. This would include developing specific terminology that is consistent with Mäori pedagogy to describe and interpret children's achievement in relation to the framework.

The collection and collation of data to extend the coverage of the framework beyond the first 17 months in total immersion should continue. This will also enable a more refined picture for the upper levels in reading and writing to be developed given that with increases in difficulty level, sample sizes decreased.

Conclusion

He Ara Angitu - A Pathway to Success is based on Mäori worldview theorising and provides normative information in literacy for children in total immersion in Mäori. It's implementation into school literacy practices could help to further shape Mäori pedagogy for a contemporary context and influence educational responses to learner need. The framework has the potential to assist schools to:

• set realistic expectations in literacy for the first two years of a child's schooling,
• locate student performance in relation to a cohort group
• develop clear profiles of overall levels of student achievement and
• meet monitoring and reporting requirements.

While the framework would undoubtedly benefit from further rigorous cultural and academic scrutiny, perhaps the greatest challenge it faces is being accepted by the wider educational scene in New Zealand.